The long-term goal of the current project is to understand the mechanisms by which different dietary oils, cholesterol and nutrition interact on the atherogenic effects in rats. Our specific aims are to determine how feeding the different oils influence the cholesterol levels in a normal diet and the cholesterol added diet. Male Sprague-Dawley rats will be fed various purified diets with either corn oil, olive oil or canola oil with and without cholesterol for a short period or long period. The samples of serum, heart and liver tissues will be obtained and analyzed for the levels of lipids, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol bile acids and fecal neutral sterols. Also, the enzymatic assays for HMg CO-A reductase, and cholesterol 7-alpha hydroxylase will be observed to determine the effects of dietary oils on cholesterol metabolism. Also, the structural and ultrastructural changes of heart and liver tissues due to the influence of diets will be studied using light microscope and electron microscope. The students will be trained in the basic cardiovascular research and nutrition and prepare to present papers in scientific meetings and publish papers in scientific journals.